Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
I didn’t respond, just gave a small nod. He moved off, and I returned to my pre-flight check of the new jet without further comment.
Later, when I’d finished my inspection and checklists, I caught sight of Linden again through the window of the admin building. She was at a desk, her head bent, chewing her lower lip softly as she looked at whatever was in her hands. My chest tightened, possessiveness surging with absolute clarity.
Mine.
Well, shit. It bowled me over for half a second, then the clarity was back, and I accepted my fate.
Linden didn’t know it yet, but she belonged to me now. Not just because she’d tripped into my arms but because for the first time in my life, I’d felt that rare, consuming instinct lock into place. The same one I’d seen so many of my brothers fall victim to. I was gonna take a truck full of shit from them after all the smart-ass remarks I’d made and my vow that I would never feel the same obsession with a woman.
But I’d found my girl—sweet, soft, and sexy as hell—hidden right under my nose.
And there was no letting her go.
2
LINDEN
Iadjusted the stacker for the thinner paper of the next batch of documents I was preparing to feed into the scanner. The new machine made my job a lot easier. It also gave me more time to daydream about the man who rescued me from tripping yesterday.
I’d been so focused on staying within the boundaries of the tarmac that I’d completely missed the most obvious thing and would’ve been in trouble if Keegan didn’t have such quick reflexes. And strong muscles.
It was too easy to remember how his large hands had gripped me. The shiver of awareness that had gone through me.
Not that I blamed myself too much since Keegan would’ve made quite an impression even if we’d met under different circumstances. His dark hair and intense green eyes were hard to forget. But it was his firm lips I kept thinking about, wondering what it would’ve felt like if he kissed me.
I’d actually thought for a moment that he’d been tempted to, which was ridiculous. A guy like him could have any woman he wanted. I was just a boring data archivist. As a civilian admin, pilots often overlooked me. But it hadn’t felt that way when Keegan caught me. It had felt like he’d missed nothing. And hadn’t been disappointed.
Shaking my head, I forced the inappropriate thought away and focused on the document in front of me. The next batch of files fed smoothly through the scanner. I monitored the digital queue while updating the spreadsheet I’d built to track my progress.
“Already?” my supervisor asked from behind me.
I glanced up to find Jim leaning against the edge of my cubicle wall. “Already what?”
“I just sent that batch over twenty minutes ago.”
“Oh, then yes. Already.” I turned my monitor slightly so he could see the screen. “I haven’t gotten far, but some 2022 logs were mixed in with the batch from 2024.”
“Good catch.” He gave me an approving smile. “You’re fast and accurate. I’m lucky you took the relocation offer. We needed someone who could untangle this mess.”
“It was good timing for me. I needed a change.” I didn’t elaborate because the grief was still too strong.
“How’re you settling in?”
“West Virginia isn’t all that different from Georgia.” I minimized the open windows on my screen and folded my hands loosely in my lap. “And I bounced around a lot growing up. Navy brat.”
“Glad to hear it.” He nodded toward my screen. “Well, keep doing what you’re doing. At this rate, we might actually finish this project ahead of schedule.”
“Will do, sir.”
He walked off, already checking his phone.
I reopened the index and continued sorting. Digitizing records wasn’t glamorous work. It took a lot of patience and attention to detail. Two traits I hadn’t known I possessed until my dad pulled some strings to get me a job as a records assistant a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t have been hired without him, but I’d made myself indispensable and moved my way up to an archivist role faster than anyone expected.
Which had been a lifesaver for me when we lost my brother a year ago. Looking at old flight logs somehow made me feel closer to Carson.
A few hours later, I fed another stack into the scanner and frowned at the one on top.
“That’s not right,” I muttered under my breath.
I pulled the sheet free and shook my head. The one under it didn’t belong with this batch either. They weren’t part of the logs I’d been working on. The headers were from 2025 instead of 2024.
Somewhere along the line, someone had mixed in records that didn’t belong. They should’ve been in the next batch I’d be working on.